{"id":130195,"date":"2026-05-01T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/santa-claus-cuffed-in-undercover-sting-targeting-child-sex-predators-sheriff-says-130195"},"modified":"2026-05-01T09:00:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T13:00:26","slug":"santa-claus-cuffed-in-undercover-sting-targeting-child-sex-predators-sheriff-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/santa-claus-cuffed-in-undercover-sting-targeting-child-sex-predators-sheriff-says-130195","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Santa Claus\u2019 cuffed in undercover sting targeting child sex predators, sheriff says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Polk County, Florida<\/a> man who often plays Santa Claus is behind bars after deputies say he tried to meet up and have sex with an underage girl.<\/p>\n

Thomas Allen Hicks, 68, was one of 19 suspects arrested on charges of attempting to allegedly travel to have sex with minors, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) said.<\/a><\/p>\n

Arresting documents reveal that Hicks, who performs as Santa, allegedly accessed a prostitution website and was hoping to have sex with a 13-year-old girl. The “girl” was being offered up by her father.<\/p>\n

BODYCAM SHOWS DAD BOLT FROM COPS WITH YOUNG CHILD IN HIS ARMS BEFORE DITCHING HER ALONE IN THE WOODS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON X<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

An undercover deputy was behind the fake ad, though, police said. As Hicks began messaging the deputy, the sheriff\u2019s office said, he told the deputy he would pay $200 to have sex with the girl.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Later in their conversation, Hicks allegedly revealed his location to “meet up,” where he was caught and cuffed.<\/p>\n

“I talked to the real Santa Claus today and he\u2019s pissed,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a news conference, FOX 13<\/a> reported. “He said it\u2019s people like that who give me a bad reputation and I spend all this time going all around the world giving presents to all the good boys and girls. Sheriff, I\u2019m glad you got him locked up.<\/p>\n

“You can\u2019t fix these people. They\u2019ve got a hitch in their giddy up. Their elevator don\u2019t go all the way to the top. It stops at P \u2013 pedophile floor. It stops at P \u2013 predator floor. It stops at C \u2013 Child predator floor. These are dangerous people.”<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hicks’s attorney for comment.<\/p>\n

Prior to his arrest, Hicks worked for Tri-County Human Services, a behavioral health clinic. He has since been fired.\u00a0<\/p>\n

GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAIL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In a statement sent to FOX 13, the company said: “Tri-County supports the Polk County Sheriff\u2019s office in their investigation and activities to maintain the safety of the community.\u00a0 Mr. Hicks did not have access to clients or their electronic health record and was not able to gather any data related to child information at any time during his employment.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE US NEWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to Tri-County.<\/p>\n

As for the rest of the suspects, the PCSO said the multi-day joint operation brought about 85 felony charges <\/a>and eight misdemeanors total.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It never ceases to amaze us how many suspects travel to have sex with who they believe are children, especially here in Polk County where we proactively investigate and arrest<\/a> those who prey on children. Speaking of believing, we even arrested Santa Claus during this undercover operation.”<\/p>\n

GOT A TIP?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/santa-claus-cuffed-undercover-sting-targeting-child-sex-predators-sheriff-says <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Polk County, Florida man who often plays Santa Claus is behind bars after deputies say he tried to meet up and have sex with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-130195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Santa Claus\u2019 cuffed in undercover sting targeting child sex predators, sheriff says - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/santa-claus-cuffed-in-undercover-sting-targeting-child-sex-predators-sheriff-says-130195\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Santa Claus\u2019 cuffed in undercover sting targeting child sex predators, sheriff says - 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